Hartmut Rhode (Germany)

Viola Soloist and Conductor

Professor - Berlin University of Arts

Hartmut Rohde is one of the leading and most sought-after European violists renowned for his stylistic versatility and rhetorical perceptiveness. He delights the public with his special timbres and highly lively interpretations which are always an effective and electrifying illumination of the score. The main interest for him lies in the historical scrutiny of the different musical styles. Perspectives and new experiences in musical dialogue serve as the basis of his interpretations. Following successful performances of concertos by Walton, Hindemith, Mozart, and the arrangement of the concerto by Edward Elgar, the premiere of Gehra’s viola concerto with Reinhard Goebel proved to be an undertaking of utmost importance in recent years. Hummel’s Fantasie and the enthralling Andante and Hungarian Rondo by Carl Maria von Weber resounded in the Düsseldorf Tonhalle. The English Symphony Orchestra is planning a world premiere of Philip Sawyers’ viola concerto in London in 2021 as well as a CD recording of Josef Tal’s viola concerto in collaboration with Deutschlandradio Kultur. Solo performances currently take him to Brazil and Lithuania.

Hartmut Rohde performs as a soloist with conductors such as Kent Nagano, Pavel Baleff, Werner Stiefel, Paavo Järvi, Massimo Zanetti, Christoph Prick and Michael Sanderling. In addition, he is a regular guest artist at Carnegie Hall New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berlin Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the “Tensions” Heimbach, the Festival Pablo Casals, Moritzburg Festival, Bantry West Cork Music Festival, Australian Chamber Music Festival and the Kumho Asiana Festival in Seoul. His commitment to contemporary music proves to be evident in his collaboration with composers such as Jörg Widmann, Detlev Glanert, Brett Dean, Wolfgang Rihm, Krzystof Penderecki, and Garth Knox as well as David Philipp Hefti, Sören Nils Eichberg, and Arvydas Malcys.